Exclusive Interview - Vanessa Van Cartier
Firstly congratulations on being crowned the winner of drag race holiday season two but before we get to that when did you discover that you wanted to do drag?
Well when I discovered I wanted to do drag we have to go back 22 years, I was in Italy and I saw a pageant (my first) it was a very little local pageant and I had never seen drag before because I was living in a village in the middle of nowhere and when I discovered that I was…well I always knew I was a gay boy but wanted to open my horizon. Then I decided to go to Milan and there I saw this pageant and I thought oh my god they are doing something that I think I would be good in. I competed and I won that little local pageant and that was the beginning of Vanessa Van Cartier’s story.
“I would like to be remembered as
a good person and that sounds
crazy because people are
used to having the girls that
kick and do splits, you
know how the winners of
Drag Race are but I know
already what I can
do, I know that my
work is good, I
don't want
to sound like
a snob or
arrogant but I
know I do a good job”
On the show you were proudly out as a transgender woman (as you should be), what was the response like from the drag race ‘fandom’ about you being on the show?
I actually didn't have negativity until the episodes with Vivaldi, before that I only had love and support. Yeah it was good, I mean they were already, not used to, but I mean in Thailand many transgender women compete and we had Kylie (Sonique Love) that won (All Stars Season 6) just a few weeks before I was crowned. It's good that people respect that, I always say everybody deserves to be on stage and everybody deserves to have that moment under the spotlight and I’m so grateful that RuPaul and the producers of Drag Race opened it up and gave the chance to other girls, it's not about the body it's the art, that’s what we need to show.
Exactly, I know the case wasn't the same for some of your other classmates for example how Tabitha was getting quite a lot of heat from the first few episodes where she made a comment about you getting ready quicker as you are already a woman and that being an advantage and the fandom attacked her for it, did you feel anything but love from your season two sisters?
I really love them all and I believe if there is a comment it's just because they think oh that would be a funny comment, they don't think further than that. Like Tabitha for example, she is my sister in crime! Tabitha would never hurt anyone, she is iconic in the Netherlands, everybody loves her and how the fandom reacted and treated her hurt me a lot. I said to Tabitha let's do a Insta-live, let's do something together and show and prove to them that they are wrong and she said no Vanessa, I have people that love me they will defend me and I really believe you need to be strong to say to handle it that way, I don't know if I would be strong like Tabitha, I would probably say yes lets do that Insta-live. Let's say that the people that are around me, when they say something that sounds a little bit weird, it's not because they mean it, it's because they try to say something funny…they try (Vanessa gives us a cheeky little grin) they try. I got the joke that Tabitha made but people didn't, it's a lesson for all the other people that will compete in the future.
During the show you made me cry, it was during the makeover challenge when you were joined by your husband Stevie. Honestly your love story truly melted my heart, it was just pure love. How was it having him join you on the show?
That was my cherry on the cake, to have him there, to have a person you love join you… I already knew that our story was special but just to having him there and knowing what impact it could have with the people at home, Stevie is like a magnet, people stick to him immediately… (Vanessa pauses and touches her arms). I always get goosebumps when we talk about it, he changed my life and I don't think that he only changed my life, I think our story was able to change others lives. I always say you cannot change everybody but if you can change one person then you are a winner, I'm sure that we did it… I always get emotional! It was one of the most beautiful moments of my life.
Honestly it truly was so special to watch and just to see that love without judgment it was wonderful.
When I watched it I cried because I think it's pure and real we were not there to win a challenge, we were there to tell our story and to have fun and to have the the person I love with me. The fact that he came on the show and as a I said in the in the episode, he comes from a tattoo world, you can lose clients over what we have, but they don't care! They take us as we are, I won the lottery with him.
Definitely and if anyone doesn't want to get tattooed by him now well, he didn't need their business in the first place! If they weren't going to support the true him then, see you later! Has he asked you to put him back in drag since?
No, no but I remember they cut this out, when we had the reveal after I the makeup the first phrase Stevie said was I'm ready for season three b*tch! But they cut it out, I thought it was so funny. But he got trauma from it because he was standing in heels for so long, you know how tv goes, then after he had problems with his feet still two, three weeks after Drag. So I don't think he's gonna ask me so quickly again…and i love it!
You're not a stranger to winning competitions, how did Drag Race fare in the difficulty level of competing?
It was difficult, the pageant world is always about discipline and being perfect as you can be but perfection don't exist but pageantry almost asked for it and Drag Race is overacting and overacting was for me difficult for me, I needed to learn not to over act and to live as Vanessa. Once you are there you think okay I’m over acting but it's never enough and that was difficult. What I’m happy with is when you compare the first episode to almost the last one you can see I made huge changes! I'm quite happy that overacting is only on Drag Race.
As RuPaul says with great power comes great responsibility. What do you hope to achieve or be remembered for doing during your reign?
I'm gonna use the same words that I use with continental pageants, I would like to be remembered as a good person and that sounds crazy because people are used to having the girls that kick and do splits but you know how the winners of Drag Race are but I know already what I can do, I know that my work is good, I don't want to sound like a snob or arrogant but I know I do a good job, I'm never vulgar in what I do and I know that I'm one of the best. I work hard to be remembered as a person that was able to give hope and a person that in the eyes of the fans is good person is for me is good enough. My reign will end next year but my life is not over and I have many things to do and only with love and respect and being a kind person can you win the world.
Vanessa Van Cartier with Drag Race Holland Season 1 winner Envy Peru.
That’s the reason why I love Envy (Peru the winner of Drag Race Holland Season 1) so much because we think the same, we respect drag and we are… yeah I can say it, we are good people. People will always remember that hug, kiss or picture you give to a fan instead of being arrogant. I never do names, but you have many that don't have time to have a connect with the fans.
Shout out time! What one other Queen, King or queer performer deserves a shout out from you?
Can I give two shout-outs?
Sure, let's break the rules!
I'm going give that shout out to Skyla Versai, she’s a queen that moved from America to the netherlands because she found love with her Dutch boyfriend, she's a queen that works so much and people that work hard and are good in what they do they deserve a shout out!
Another one is Tipsy Patron, she's not a baby drag queen because she's been performing for three years already but I recognize a lot in Tipsy from how I was. When people realize that you are good… not people, queens, they try to bring you down and I’m going to lift her up because that girl is going be one of the biggest stars of the Netherlands. Don't forget that name!
Catch Vanessa Van Cartier in Drag Race Holland S2, available exclusively on WOW Presents Plus. Subscribe here.
Photography - Courtesy of World of Wonder
Note: Some of this interview has been edited from the original transcript to help with readability.